Chapter 124: The Kilometer-Long Fissure

In the depths of the night, Lu Sheng gripped his White Flame Spear tightly and unleashed his Strength Form. As he activated the form, the Laws of Strength surged from within the body of the Space-Time Ant, coiling around him like a shroud. At that moment, he felt a layer of law-based power enveloping his skin. He felt as though he had attained a strength he had never before possessed. This terrifying surge of power gave him an illusion: he felt that his strikes could shatter anything, even the mountain range standing before him.

"Let me see... just how strong I am now!"

Inside the campfire base, everyone was watching Lu Sheng. They whispered among themselves, discussing nothing but him. Zhang Tiandao stared at Lu Sheng with deep, inscrutable eyes; he could feel a terrifying power welling up within the young man. It was as if a slumbering primordial beast were about to awaken, ready to bring about a cataclysmic scene. He found it hard to believe—hadn't Lu Sheng just broken through to the sixth stage? Unable to restrain himself, he once again used his linguistic divination ability. Indeed, throughout their journey, he had frequently used this power on Lu Sheng—whenever Lu Sheng wanted to take a detour or when Xiong Dabiao looked ready to clash with him, he would peek at the potential outcomes.

A vision appeared in his mind. It was a simple image: a massive fissure. The entire ground was split by a colossal crack, stretching for over a thousand meters. Zhang Tiandao was bewildered for a moment. Could this really be the result of Lu Sheng's attack? The thought had barely surfaced before he laughed it off as impossible. How could someone who had just reached the sixth stage unleash such a powerful blow? Even he, a newly ascended seventh-stage master, did not believe he could carve a kilometer-long rift into the earth.

Though slightly tipsy, Xiong Dabiao remained sharp enough to sense the peculiar aura radiating from Lu Sheng. "Old Man Mad, what’s going on? Why do I feel like the aura coming off that guy is enough to kill me in one hit?" Xiong Dabiao was confused; was he just drunk? That shouldn't be it... Zhang Tiandao said nothing more, merely replying, "Just watch. Why overthink it?"

The entire camp fell silent, as if muted, as everyone focused on the figure ahead. Under the gaze of thousands, Lu Sheng finally moved. Dragging his White Flame Spear behind him, he swung it in a full semicircle with all his might, slamming it into the ground in front of him.

"BOOM!!!"

The moment the spear struck, a deafening explosion echoed through the air.

"Crackle... crackle..."

At the tip of the spear, a fissure appeared, rapidly spreading forward! The ground began to split, and the earth shook violently. A blast of air, generated purely by Lu Sheng’s immense power, shot toward the mountain range. This shockwave traveled faster than the spreading crack, covering over two hundred meters in a mere blink. Countless people felt the ground shudder beneath their feet and were struck with terror. Seeing the crack continue to widen as they stared ahead, they couldn't help but gulp nervously. If they were hit by such a strike, they probably wouldn't even have a corpse left to bury.

Deep in the mountains, the seventh-stage Centipede was still hesitating. Suddenly, it felt the ground shake. Before it could process what was happening, it sensed a surge of energy rushing toward it. The speed was so great that dodging was impossible. It hastily activated its defensive skill, "Hardened Shell," turning its crimson skin jet-black. Just then, the shockwave arrived. Several large trees in its path were obliterated, and the force struck the centipede square on the forehead.

"Bang!"

The seventh-stage centipede was sent flying backward, its massive body launched into the air before slamming heavily into the ground. Amidst a cloud of dust, the creature stood up, a deep crater now indented in its forehead. Its eyes locked onto the source of the attack, and it was filled with shock. Not only had the attack traveled over a thousand meters, but the ground was scarred by a kilometer-long rift. It was clear that the shockwave wasn't even the full extent of the power. If it had been hit by the force that created that rift, it would surely be dead. Cold sweat broke out on the centipede's body; without a second thought, it turned and fled, abandoning all designs on these people. Power was useless if one were dead.

The onlookers were stunned. Had that kilometer-long crack really been caused by this one man? The camp was eerily quiet; among the thousands of people, only the crackle of the bonfire could be heard. They were dumbfounded, unable to believe what they had just witnessed. What kind of god-like power was required to do this? To alter the landscape by a kilometer—was this truly something a sixth-stage could achieve? They looked at the sixth-stage experts like Xiong Dabiao with suspicion, as if asking: "Can you do that?"

Xiong Dabiao and the others felt the questioning gazes. Zhuo Lei and Xiong Dabiao exchanged a look, both seeing a trace of embarrassment in the other's eyes. They couldn't produce such an attack; even with all their strength, a hundred-meter crack would be their limit. Xiong Dabiao looked toward Zhang Tiandao: "Old Man Mad, could you do that?"

He figured that if he, a sixth-stage, couldn't do it, surely the "Old Man Mad" could?

Zhang Tiandao pondered for a moment. "Hmm... I can't. And I have the feeling that if I were hit by that, I’d be dead." He wasn't joking; if that attack landed on him, he would have no chance of survival.

"Then is he really only at the sixth stage?" Xiong Dabiao was shocked. Zhang Tiandao was at the seventh stage, and even he couldn't do it. Xiong Dabiao began to doubt Lu Sheng's true strength.

"Why dwell on it? I told you, he's a big thigh to cling to." Zhang Tiandao was more open-minded, showing no interest in probing the secret of Lu Sheng's power.

...

Lu Sheng looked at the massive fissure and was somewhat surprised himself. "My goodness, this power... it really is beyond expectations." But upon reflection, considering the hard-working Muscle Dog, it didn't seem too exaggerated. "This power has to be considered formidable among the sixth stage." As far as Lu Sheng was concerned, his strength was likely invincible at the sixth stage. As for the seventh stage, without a direct comparison, he had no data and wasn't sure if he could kill one. Of course, killing a seventh-stage master wouldn't be easy; power only mattered if it could actually hit the target. If such a terrifying attack landed on an enemy, Lu Sheng was confident that even a seventh-stage master would meet a miserable end. As for hitting them? That might be difficult for others, but for Lu Sheng, it was the simplest thing in the world. Space freezing and spatial teleportation meant his enemies wouldn't even know how they died.

Having gauged his power, Lu Sheng returned to the bonfire.

"What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Nothing, just looking at a monster," Xiong Dabiao joked.

The night passed quickly, and everyone had a good time. Lu Sheng was also pleased. His fifth-stage Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes had matured, and millions had been born within the space he had designated in the sub-dimensional realm. After using spatial compression to cull them, he had harvested nearly 2.8 million fifth-stage peak Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes. He planned to use these specifically to boost his monsters from the first to the sixth stage. He would treat this area like a field of leeks—harvesting them and then letting them grow back. He would never be short of fifth-stage peak mosquitoes again; he had achieved financial freedom in that regard.

He didn't intend to use the fifth-stage mosquitoes to boost monsters beyond the sixth stage, as the consumption would be too high. Using the mosquitoes that had matured that night, he began to upgrade his collection. Those that hadn't evolved were boosted to the fifth-stage peak, and those that had were boosted to the sixth stage.

Muscle Dog: Sixth Stage!
Ant Queen: Sixth Stage!
Giant Crocodile: Sixth Stage!
Goblin: Sixth Stage!
Stone-Throwing Goblin: Sixth Stage!

These were the monsters he had already evolved. Since their quality had been boosted to "Blue" at Tiantan Mountain, they could be upgraded directly. Once the Ant Queen reached the sixth stage, she could produce first-to-fifth-stage Red Fire Ants much faster, though it seemed she couldn't produce sixth-stage ones. After reaching the sixth stage, Muscle Dog had started training with a seven-thousand-jin gravity iron. The Giant Crocodile, Goblin, and Stone-Throwing Goblin had each gained a new skill after their quality reached blue.

The Giant Crocodile mastered "Hardening," making its skin even tougher and its defense stronger. The Goblin mastered "Gigantism," growing to three meters tall along with its wooden club—a massive size for a goblin. The Stone-Throwing Goblin mastered "Six-Shot Burst," allowing it to throw six red stones at once.

Upon reaching the sixth stage, they also mastered their respective attributes. The Goblin mastered "Strength," which greatly increased its power when the law was imbued—though compared to Lu Sheng, it was nothing. The Stone-Throwing Goblin mastered a special "Lava Law," allowing its thrown stones to be covered in magma, making them devastatingly powerful. The Giant Crocodile mastered a bit of the "Water Law," making its water cannons more powerful and enhancing its combat ability in water. By the sixth stage, the Giant Crocodile had reached fifty meters in length. Lu Sheng found this peculiar; even the massive Desert Giants only reached twenty meters at the sixth stage. While their growth methods differed, the comparison was striking. Yet, despite the suspicion, the crocodile had shown nothing else special besides its massive size.

Another night passed. The next morning, Lu Sheng discovered many people gathered around the fissure he had created. In the daylight, they could see the kilometer-long rift even more clearly, and the shock was far greater than it had been the night before. Thousands of people surrounded the abyss-like crack, all wondering the same thing: was this really something a human could do?

Xiong Zijie approached Lu Sheng: "Brother Lu, the attack you unleashed last night was breathtaking. Even now, I can hardly believe it."

"Haha," Lu Sheng laughed, not dwelling on the topic. "Let's pack up and get moving. If we don't reach our destination today, we'll have to spend another night in the wild."

"Right."

After breakfast, the group continued their journey. The party had grown from three thousand to nearly ten thousand. Following discussions the previous night, Zhuo Lei, Xiong Dabiao, and the others had decided to form a new alliance. They didn't know what to expect in District 13, and to avoid being marginalized, they chose to unite. One sixth-stage expert was far from enough in District 13; according to their intelligence, a major faction needed at least one seventh-stage master to hold the fort. This was why Zhuo Lei had chosen to join—thanks to Xiong Dabiao "accidentally" revealing that Zhang Tiandao was already at the seventh stage.

Nearly seven thousand of the ten thousand people in the group now belonged to the "Hero's Stronghold." Others were small independent squads who had chosen not to join.

Two hours later, they were forced to stop again. A battle between a sixth-stage human and a sixth-stage monster blocked their path. The battle was intense, with shockwaves rippling outward. The human used flame-infused blade attacks, each slash creating a wave of fire. The monster, a four-meter-tall insect, was huge yet agile, dodging attacks and retaliating with a corrosive green slime. Wherever the slime landed, the earth melted into craters.

The arrival of ten thousand people caught both sides' attention. Xiong Dabiao frowned; he didn't want to get involved, but if they kept fighting, his group couldn't pass.

Zhang Tiandao spoke up: "I'll handle this trouble." They couldn't afford any more delays.

Lu Sheng watched with curiosity. He was eager to see the power of a seventh-stage expert, especially since Zhang Tiandao seemed to cultivate his own body primarily and his "fate card" secondarily.

Zhang Tiandao stepped forward. A blue energy radiated from him, and with a light wave of his arm, a bolt of lightning struck the top of the green insect. Even though the insect was fast, it was hit in the tail. A sense of paralysis washed over it; the moment the man had acted, it felt a power it could not resist. Seventh stage! Its only thought was to flee, but the paralysis made its body sluggish.

Zhang Tiandao didn't let up. With another wave, more lightning bolts crashed down. The monster tried to block with a green energy shield, but how could it withstand a seventh-stage attack? The first strike shattered its defense; the second struck its body, causing it to tremble and foam at the mouth; the third strike left it motionless and smoking. Zhang Tiandao stopped and returned to the group calmly. "We can go now."

The group moved on. As for the loot dropped by the monster, Zhang Tiandao glanced at it from afar and, seeing nothing useful, left it behind.

Su Hao watched the massive group pass by, feeling puzzled. He didn't recognize them. As a sixth-stage expert, he knew the major factions of District 13, and these people didn't fit. The person who had just attacked was definitely seventh-stage, but the group included people at the first and second stages—major factions wouldn't recruit such weaklings. However, he didn't dwell on it; they had helped him kill the monster without taking the loot, which he appreciated.

The group continued, stopping for lunch before pressing on. By noon, they had crossed the mountain range. The road ahead was clear except for the occasional hill.

As they traveled, they encountered a dungeon glowing with intense red light. Unlike the usual green dungeons, this one appeared to be engulfed in red flames.

"Brother Zijie, what is this?" Lu Sheng asked curiously.

Xiong Zijie shook his head: "I'm not sure, I'll have to ask my father."

Xiong Dabiao, who was walking behind them, said: "This is a Law Stone dungeon! There must be Law Stones inside!" Xiong Dabiao sounded excited. This was the key to their continued advancement.

Lu Sheng's eyes lit up: "Law Stones?"

"Exactly. Are you interested in exploring it, Brother Lu?" Xiong Dabiao’s eyes burned with heat. The chances of finding such things in the wilderness they came from were extremely low. He hadn't expected to find one immediately after entering District 13!

Lu Sheng was certainly interested. "Alright, we're almost at our destination anyway." According to their current speed, they would reach the District 13 safe zone by noon. They could travel anytime, but Law Stones were a rare opportunity.

Zhang Tiandao, however, said: "The three of you go ahead. I'll lead the group to the safe zone. We can keep in touch via the transmission insects."

Xiong Dabiao was stunned: "But those are Law Stones! Aren't you coming?"

Zhang Tiandao replied indifferently: "We can't have ten thousand people wasting time here, can we?"